I was focused over the summer and this fall on 1 number.   As an accountant-business teacher-runner, unfortunately numbers are what I look at.  Numbers are all over the place and mean so much.  My goal was to finally break 1:30 in the half marathon, a stubborn goal that started in 2015.

In 2015 I trained with a great group of people, the ‘precursors’ to my current training partners, the UN group.   Every Thursday we would pound out progression runs at 5 AM and have nice runs the rest of the week.  The goal race was the Liberty State Half in Jersey City, NJ.   At the race we ran as a pack and we even picked up a few others with the same goal.  It was a great pack – small conversations and a bunch of guys surrounding 1 female runner.  Around mile 10 the pack began to break apart.  There were a lot of turns in the race and I slowly faded.  Even though my GPS stated I ran 13.3 miles, the official distance was still 13.1 and I came up short.  1:30:05……

The next year I came back to a heat wave at the same event an faded after 7 miles to 1:32:51.  In 2017 I tried Shades of Death.   I was ready – but the weather was not.  It was the most humid day I have ever run in, with the dew point in the 80’s.  I wilted and finished in 1:35:40.

This year, armed with a coach and a great team to push myself, again I was ready.  Blistering workouts and a long hot tropical summer of training, including a massive last workout the week before and I was prepared for the Ocean City (NJ) Half.   The week before unfortunately I was hit with some kind of draining virus that left me exhausted every day until the race.  I felt 80% going into the race but, coupled with some heat, I again did not hit my goal.   I was on pace for 11 miles.  Miles 12-13 I slowed down just enough to miss it by 11 seconds – My goal time just ticked off right in front of me just before I finished.  1:30:10, missing breaking my PR by 6 seconds an that darn 1:30 mark.

Move on – a race complete cannot be changed.   I have 3 races in the next 3 weeks (2 5K’s and a 10K).

The goal will just have to wait again…..

Trials of Miles

Coach Nick